Who is the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition?

Our mission is to reverse the trend of mass incarceration in Colorado. We are a coalition of nearly 7,000 individual members and over 100 faith and community organizations who have united to stop perpetual prison expansion in Colorado through policy and sentence reform.

Our chief areas of interest include drug policy reform, women in prison, racial injustice, the impact of incarceration on children and families, the problems associated with re-entry and stopping the practice of using private prisons in our state.

If you would like to be involved please go to our website and become a member.


Sunday, January 21, 2007

Can Drug Court Make A Real Difference This Time?

In order to be effective, drug court can't just be the slow road to prison. There has to be significant funding for the people who can't afford treatment. Prisons are full of poor people who couldn't access services. Whether it is treatment or child care so that they could attend the long term treatment programs that will increase the addicts likelihood of success. Having people pay for U.A. tests to see if they are using doesn't help. Try something different, have them pay for the ones that come back positive for drugs. Creativity is going to be necessary in order to achieve success. The proponents of this system have to thoughtful about all the populations that they are serving.

OP ED in the Rocky Mountain News

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